Binding for books.



No. 760,308. PATENTED MAY 17, 1904 c. GHIVERS.

BINDING FOR BOOKS.

APPLIOATIQN FILED MAE. 4, 1904.

N0 MODEL.

THE ucnms Pains co wow-Lmla. WASHINGTON. n, a.

UNITED STATES Patented May 1'7, 190 1.

(JEDRIC CI-IIVERS, OF BATH, ENGLAND.

BINDING FOR BOOKS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 760,308, dated May 17, 1904.

A uman filed March 4, 1904.

To all whom it may concern:

' Be it known that I, Gnome Onivnns, a subject of the King of Great Britain, residing at Bath, England, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Connection with Bindings for Books, of which the following is a'specification.

The invention consists in the combination, with a tight-back form of binding, of a plan of stitching the sections together and attaching the book to its covers so that the tapes or strings which are ordinarily used for that purpose may be dispensed with and a more flexible and consequently stronger binding be produced.

Books have hitherto been sewed upon strings, strips of vellum, or tapes with two objectsone of holding the sheets together, but chiefly for the purpose of attaching the book to the boards which form the covers. With the poorer qualities of paper in modern books it is found that these tapes or strings when permeated with the glue, which is poured into the back of the book after it is sewed, have two disadvantages. In the first place, they offer a resistance to the supple opening of the back when the book is bound, and in the case of vellum strips or tapes they have another disadvantage in that they cover a portion of the back and prevent the glue from flowing freely between the sections. Provided a sufiiciently-strong attachment of the board to the book can be made without the use of these strings or tapes the book may be dealt with in a much more eflicacious fashion and still more strongly by sewing it in the manner hereinafter described.

In carrying the invention into effect the sections of which the book is made up are stitched. together with the usual catch or kettle stitching at or near the ends, and in addition each section is stitched to the next in order by threads, which start from the kettle-stitch, along the inside of the section for about an inch, out through the back over to the next section and inside it for a short dis tance, then outside and over to the first sec tion again and inside for a similar distance, out and over to the next section again, and so $eria1 No. 196,541. (NomodeL) l on until the lower kettle-stitching is reached, each section being similarly attached to its neighbor until the whole book is formed. No tapes or strings, however, are used, so that the whole of the book is subject to the gluing operation and each section is united to its fellow, not only at each kettle-stitch, but at every stitch along its course.

To attach the section to the cover securely in the absence of tapes or strings, the inside first and last two sections of each book are lined with fine jaconette in order to strengthen them, and with the above arrangement of sewing end papers or sections are added on each side so made as to form an additional linen-lined section to each end of the book. These are attached to the book by sewing in the same way as the sections which form the book, so that every stitch in and out of a given section or end paper ties it to its previous and following sheet. Near the top and bottom of the back of the book a piece of tape or strip of jaconette may, if the book is a heavy one, be sewed, and with larger books one or more additional pieces toward the middle of the back. The stitches holding these are made through the linen-lined end sections and end papers only. The ends of these stripsare inserted, together with the outsidelinen flap of the end paper, into the boards 2111(lf01l11 one of the means of attaching the boards to the book.

The method of book-se wing above described is stronger than sewing as it is ordinarily done for the following reasons: Each stitch ties the section to its fellows. There are fewer holes made by the needle, so that each leaf is stronger in the back, because it has fewer perforations. The two tapes or strips of jaconette are so arranged as to be near the top and-bottom of the book, and in this way they make a liriner attachment of the boards towthe book than heretofore. After the book is rounded and backed theloose or other backing is now, at tached by gluing it down to the back of the sections in the usual manner. As an alternative, however, to the usual tight back, which is unsuitable for many kinds of book, Iprefer to employ a false back made upqofwa leather base-piece attached to the back of the book, to which is previously sewed or suitably attached down and a little way from each edge a stiffening-piece composed of layers of brown paper, card, millboard, or the like, each tapered at its edge and sewed to some pliant strengthening fabricsuch as book-linen, canvas, or the like so that a pocket or space, as with an ordinary loose back, is left between the leather base-piece and the stiffener. The point here to be observed is that the fold of the loose back does not come close to the edge of the back of the book, as does the pared leather itself and as does the ordinary loose -back,-but it starts to open some one-eighth or one-sixth of an inch inside of the groove. This allows the leather cover of the back to be firmly attached to the groove and to the back of the book before it is thrown off to form the loose back, which has several advantages over the ordinary tight leather back. To the outer face of this backing is finally attached the leather back proper. By means of this plan all the advantages of the openback form are combined with the advantages of a tight back, and thus a much stronger and more flexible binding results. By the use of this combination of sewing and leather backing a very strong binding is produced, which, however, is so flexible as greatly to enhance the life of the book.

Referring to the accompanying drawing, which is a View of the back of a book having parts of a leather half or false back removed to show the stitching and mode of attachment of the end sections to the covers, (0 represents the sections of which the book is composed, and Z) represents the two end sections by means of which the book is more securely attached to its covers, and which sections Z) are stitched at top and bottom by the usual catch or kettle stitches d to the sections a and are also attached thereto at more or less frequent intervals between by threads 6, which attach each section of the book to its neighboring section.

Each end section 6 may consist of a number of fly-leaves or a number of the usual leaves sewed together and bound by a strip of some pliant materialsu ch as jaconette, book-linen, or the likethe inner or shorter flap 0 of which is glued to the first sheet of the section 6, while the outer and longer flap 0 is left loose for attachment to the covers of the book, as will be hereinafter further described.

The tight back which I prefer to employ, as stated, comprises a false back made up of a leather base-piece f, which is glued all over its under side to the back of the sections (6' and Z) and having its outer longitudinal edges pared or skived to prevent the formation of ridges when fastened down. To the leather base-piece f is attached by sewing down each edge a stiffening-piece made up of layers of brown paper or the like, 9, between covering-pieces IL and 2', the overlapping edges of which are sewed together and to the base piece f, so that a pocket or space isv left between the latter and the stiffening-piece and formsa false open back. Theleather halfback proper, is glued to the covering 21 of the stiffening-piece and the overlapping edges thereof to the covers in the well-understood manner. The covers are attached to the book by the flaps c of the end sections 6, which are fastened by gluing or the like means between the boards is and m of which each cover is made up. By such a construction of binding the book is more firmly held between its covers, since it is attached thereto not only by means of the end sections 6, which are in turn attached, as described, to the sections a, comprising the book, but also through the medium of the half-back proper and the false back. The tapes, which have hitherto been a necessary feature of the tight-back form of binding, as they formed the chief means of attachment of the book to its covers, are therefore dispensed with and a source of stiffness and opposition to the easy-opening back of the book, as already described, removed. For the purpose, however, of strengthening the attachment ofthe boards to a heavy or large book at the upper and lower ends, where the pull on the book is principally felt, I prefer to employ a loose tape 12, attached by stitching to the two end sections only, 5, the loose ends a of such tapes being inserted between the boards of the cover with the flap 0, so that the part which stretches-across the back will assist the action of the tight back f, underneath which such tapes are glued when the back f is stuck down.

What 1 claim is 1. A binding for books comprising sections stitched together by threads passing backward and forward between each of every two adjacent sections, end sections secured thereto, a pliant fabric secured to the back edges of the end sections and exposing-flaps, covers comprising boards between which such flaps are secured, and a tight back of leather cemented to the sections.

2. A binding for books comprising sections stitched together by threads passing backward and forward between each of every two adjacent sections, end sections secured thereto, a pliant fabric secured to the back edges of the end sections and exposing-flaps, covers comprising boards between which such flaps are secured, and a false open back comprising a leather base-piece cemented to the sections, a stiffening-piece covered with pliant material and attached by stitches to the said leather base-piece to form a pocket, and a back cemented to said stifiener and to the covers.

3. A binding for books comprising sections stitched together by threads passing backward and forward between each of every two adjacent sections, end sections secured thereto, a

pliantfabric secured to the back edges of the In testimony whereof I have hereunto set end sections and exposing-flaps, tapes attached my hand; in the presence of two subscribing by stitching to the two end sections and hav- Witnesses.

ing loose ends, covers comprising boards be- CEDRIO CHIVERS. 5 tween which said flaps and loose ends of said Witnesses:

tapes are secured, and a tight back cemented GERARD MosELY,

to the sections and to the covers. JAMES SMITH. 

